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Please I Beg for a kind reply (Anxiety at the top)

Dear Sir/Madam
this is my 3rd time positing to you but no reply at all. I am totally broken due to fear and anxiety of hiv please help me to sort out this.
I must admit that after an unprotected brief anal intercourse a second foolish mistake to do a test alere determine at home while i was not totally aware of the procedure. I did and a grey control line and a faint grey line appear after few minutes on the test strip i was shocked and assumed that my life has been ended up. after reading much articles and who website i came to know that this might be an invalid test as what i saw was a shadow and alere determine requires coloured line for reactive as many other experienced the same and WHO also stated in their practice module 9. since then i repeated test as follows

High top antibody rapid home test (non reactive at 7.5 week)
Alere determine done by me at 8.5 and 9 week non reactive

Since i know i should confirm my result i went to a health care provider in my area and tested with SD Bioline hiv 3.0 test non reactive at 10 week.

I tested again by myself at 13 week using alere determine hiv 1/2 nonreactive
at 15 week i went to a local community health care centre where they tested me with hiv antibody test rapid test non reactive
at 20 week i went to the same health care centre for the retest and they test me with alere hiv combo twice and reassure me that i am free from hiv.

Please help me to sort out my anxiety. i shall be thankfull

Answer:

Hello and thank you for your inquiry.

We understand that you are concerned with the accuracy of multiple non-reactive HIV test results you have received since having unprotected anal sex, with the most recent test being done at 20 weeks after your exposure.

At AIDS Vancouver, we do not recommend the use of home testing kits, as they can yield false results and there is no opportunity for counselling the individual. For this reason, we will address the rapid antibody test you received at 15 weeks, as well as the 4th Generation EIA (combo) test you received at 20 weeks.

The rapid test looks for HIV antibodies and the average window period for this test is 22 days (3 weeks), but it can be up to 3 months (12-13 weeks).

4th Generation EIA tests detect HIV antibodies, as well as the HIV P24 antigen. The average window period for this test is 18 days (2.5 weeks), but can be up to 1.5 months (6-7 weeks)

When performed outside the window period, Fourth-generation HIV tests and the INSTI rapid test have a sensitivity of about 99.9%, meaning that they are accurate 999 out of 1000 times. (1)

Based on the timeline you have provided, both your rapid test and your 4th generation test were performed well beyond their respective window periods. Given the superb sensitivity of these tests, and the fact that you have had multiple non-reactive results, you can most certainly consider yourself to be HIV negative.

In the future, please consider using protection when having anal sex, no matter how brief the encounter. This will not only reduce your risk of acquiring HIV, but is also likely to reduce the anxiety you experience afterwards.

If you think that having unprotected anal sex is something you might find yourself doing again in the future, there are biomedical approaches such as PrEP and PEP that help lower your risk of acquiring HIV. Refer to your physician for further information

AIDS Vancouver plays a special role in providing quality health care to people affected by HIV/AIDS living in the Lower Mainland. It is clearly more than just a community health care organization. It is an organization whose presence and continued strength is essential to the quality for life of this community and of each individual and family who draws on its services. Our Agency is a vital community asset which everyone affected by HIV/AIDS can share, and in which we all have a stake.